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Mineral Resources Development (Brown Coal
Royalties) Bill
Introduction Print
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
General
The Bill amends the Mineral Resources Development Act 1990 (the Act) to
make provision for royalties for lignite (otherwise known as brown coal).
Clause Notes
Clause 1 sets out the main purpose of the Bill which is to specify a new
rate for royalties for lignite taken by any holder of a mining
licence.
Clause 2 provides that the Bill will come into operation on 1 January 2006.
Clause 3 amends section 12(1) of the Act, which establishes the general
arrangements for the payment of royalties under the Act, to make
the requirements under section 12 subject to the requirements of
new section 12A introduced by clause 4 of this Bill.
Clause 4 inserts a new section 12A into the Act. New section 12A
establishes specific arrangements that will apply for the payment
of royalties for lignite under the Act. Sub-sections (1) and (2)
establish that the holder of a mining licence that mines lignite
must pay royalties for that lignite in accordance with the
prescribed rate. The new arrangements apply despite anything to
the contrary that may be specified in a licence or regulations
made under the Act.
Sub-section (3) defines the prescribed rate as either the base
amount per gigajoule unit of lignite produced or, if a different
rate is prescribed in the regulations, that rate. This will enable
future variations to the prescribed rate to be undertaken through
the regulation-making process.
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Sub-section (4) provides for the payment of royalties in respect
of mining tailings for lignite. This sub-section ensures that
current requirements under section 12(2) of the Act will apply to
lignite.
Sub-section (5) outlines certain definitions for the purposes of
this section. The most important of these definitions is the
definition of "base amount" which is set at $00588 for the
period from 1 January--30 June 2006 and will be adjusted on an
annual financial year basis in line with the Consumer Price Index.
Definitions of "consumer price index number" and "gigajoule
unit of lignite" are also included.
Clause 5 substitutes section 26(2)(i) of the Act with a new provision to
prevent the Minister from setting a licence condition that relates
to the payment of royalties in respect of lignite.
Clause 6 inserts new section 132 into the Act. This transitional section
states that the amendments made by this Bill will not apply to the
rate at which royalties are paid for any lignite produced before
1 January 2006 (the commencement date for this Bill).
This section ensures that there can be no retrospective application
of the rate to lignite produced before 1 January 2006 for which
payment falls due following the commencement of the Bill.
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